BIBLE STUDY February 22, 2021

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Mark 9: 2-10 Romans 8: 31b-34

1. Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 • This is the defining moment of Abraham’s relationship with God. Abraham has experienced 10 tests throughout his life with this being the tenth and climactic test. He also receives seven blessings. The blessing at the end of this story is the most definitive. There is a tradition in the Bible of God putting Israel to the test. To put to the test means probing what is in its heart. Letting Israel’s/Abraham’s true orientation be made visible. • God is presented as he “whose demands are absolute, whose will is inscrutable, and whose final word is grace.” (JBC) Abraham is presented with all the grandeur of the patriarch of Israel. He faces God. He is willing to obey God’s mysterious and harsh command. He is silently trusting and obedient. • Although some commentators have expressed doubt that God would actually command Abraham to sacrifice his son and that maybe Abraham felt that this is what God wanted because other gods demanded the sacrifice of the first born, “such a judgement reduces this climatic event as a simple moral command. The father’s very life is bound up with that of his child and heir. Abraham entrusts his very life and future unconditionally to the God who calls him.” JBC • V. 1: “God put Abraham to the test.” As readers, we learn that this is a test. God calls Abraham and he responds, “Here I am!” Abraham is totally available to God. • V.2: “Your only son whom you love” the import of what God is asking of Abraham is made clear. Moriah was traditionally thought to be where Solomon built the temple. So, Abraham was the first to worship and offer sacrifice on what was to be the site of the temple. Moriah means to see and to provide. Thus, God will see to the sacrifice and God will provide the sacrifice • V. 3: Abraham obeys immediately and silently. He sets out with Isaac for a journey to Moriah. • V. 4-6: They stop on the third day—halfway point of a seven day journey?—Abraham has the servants stay behind so that he can face God alone with Isaac. Isaac carries the wood of the sacrifice (as Jesus carries his cross) and Abraham the fire and knife. • V. 7-8: “God will provide the sacrifice,” Abraham answers Isaac’s question. Not necessarily an evasion, but rather putting everything into God’s hands. • V. 9: Isaac is bound and put on top of the wood. The traditional Jewish name of this story is “The Binding of Isaac.” • V. 10-12: Abraham is ready to sacrifice Isaac but is stopped by an angel who delivers God message that he now knows of Abraham’s total dedication to God. “Abraham has learned to give up control over his own life that he might receive it as grace.” JBC • V. 13-14: Abraham spots a ram to be sacrificed in Isaac’s place. The place is named Yahweh-yireh—God will see/provide. • V. 15: The most effusive of the promises to Abraham is delivered by the angel. Here the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore is described as a reward for his faithfulness. • Sacrifice of the first born was a common practice in Canaan and the other nations around it. Israel recognized that the first born should be dedicated to God and did so by substituting animal sacrifice in its place. This story tells the origin of how Israel’s practice came about but it is not the main pint of the story. 2. Mark 9: 2-10 • Jesus’ Transfiguration is a revelation of who Jesus truly is and that his word about his upcoming suffering that will lead to glory is true and should be believed by the disciples. It is also an internal confirmation to jesus that his turn in ministry from the miracles in Galilee to the sacrifice in Jerusalem is the right one. • V. 2: “after six days:” This time notation relates this event to Jesus’ first announcement of his suffering, death and glory. Pete, James and John, who also were present at the raising of Jairus’ daughter and will be present at the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, are privileged to receive the revelation to help them accept the truth that Jesus is a Messiah who will suffer and then enter into glory. “After six days” also reminds us that the cloud of God’s presence rested on Sinai for six days before God spoke to Moses from the cloud on the seventh day. The Transfiguration is also a theophany—a revelation of God. • “A high mountain:” mountains are the traditional place where God reveals himself, e.g. Mount Sinai (Horeb). • “He was transfigured:” the Greek word is metamorphosis which means that the inner self is revealed. Jesus’ true identity as the divine Son of God is made visible. • V. 3: White garments refer to belonging to the heavenly realms. • V. 4: Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. Both Moses and Elijah were in the presence of God on Mt. Sinai (Horeb). Their presence attests that Jesus is God. • V. 5-6: Peter, James and John attempt a response to the vision. Peter is the spokesperson. He does not know what to say but that does not stop him. “It is good that we are here!” is an understatement but an attempt to put into words the awe of such a revelation. He suggests three tents as a way of prolonging and making permanent the apparition. However, this moment is fleeting and will not be permanent. Jesus must suffer and die before he can permanently enter into glory. • V. 7: The cloud represents the presence of God the Father. In the Old Testament especially at Sinai, God speaks from a cloud. Peter had called Jesus, “Rabbi.” God corrects that by naming Jesus as his beloved Son. Three times Jesus is named God’s Son: at his Baptism, at this Transfiguration and by the centurion as he died on the Cross. Each time he is named, it follows Jesus’ immersion into the sinful condition of humanity in the grip of evil. At his Baptism, Jesus is part of the crowd confessing their sins; at the transfiguration, he has just said that he will be handed over, suffer and die; at the Cross, Jesus has just died, the innocent for the guilty. • V. 8: “Suddenly” the vision departs as quickly as it came. It is not permanent but fleeting. For ourselves, moments of union with God or a particularly consoling spiritual experience are usually momentary and we are quickly back into the real world. • The Transfiguration is a mystical experience for Jesus to confirm in the new direction of his life. It confirms the wisdom that the salvation of the world and defeat of evil will not come in a human way of power and miracles (like his ministry in Galilee) but in a divine way of love and sacrifice (as will be his ministry moving toward Jerusalem.) 3. Romans 8: 31b-34 • The overpowering love of God has defeated every obstacle that stands in the way of Christians and God. God is actively working on our behalf. He is not a passive bystander or a detached observer. He is on our side. He is not against us but for us. • If God gave us his only Son, how could he withhold anything from us? God did not require Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but willingly sacrificed his son, Jesus, for our sakes. • What charge could be brought against us because God has acquitted us of our sins? • Who can condemn us because Jesus, who died and rose and sits at God’s right hand, intercedes for us.